South Sudan in dire straits – Food crucial necessity

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, ended her three-day visit to Malakal, South Sudan where whole areas of the town have been burnt out.

Thousands of people have taken shelter in the Malakal Teaching Hospital and are in what Ms. Amos calls unbelievably dire circumstances.

The World Food Program is asking the international community for funds to replace looted and damaged WFP warehouse assets. It has been confirmed that enough food to feed over 200,000 people for a month has been lost, a scenario reported in many other locations throughout the country during the conflict between pro and anti-government forces.

President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has given assurances that the humanitarian community can go anywhere they wish to help all South Sundanese. Valerie Amos acknowledged President Salva Kiir’s statements of reconciliation and a return to stability. More than 702,000 people have been internally displaced by the conflict and 123,000 have fled into neighboring countries, leaving tens of thousands in the town of Malakal unable to feed their families.